Patrick Chan- why doesnt he get the respect he deserves

It is such a shame to see Patrick Chan underappreciated for his amazing talents and efforts. At this point people should really start talking about him as maybe the best skater ever I think. Instead all he gets is jerks whining about his well deserved wins.

Maybe Chan doesn't get respect because he doesn't deserve it. He may be a great skater, but he is a whiny, petulant human being who too often vents unpopular opinions to the press. If he would only take the time to think before he spoke, he might not get so much backlash.

As sick as I am of reading Chan bashing thread after Chan bashing thread - and negative post after negative post my strategy now is that I am going to focus on the positive.

Personally I am just grateful that I am one of the lucky people who gets to enjoy the things that are absolutely amazing about him. I know there are many who do not or cannot enjoy these things for a number of reasons.

I have seen him do what I consider to be one of the greatest short programs of all time this year at Worlds and one of the greatest free programs of all time at Nationals in 2011. I have seen him skate live a number of times and for me it never ever gets old. Even with mistakes there is so much to admire FOR ME. I would pay to watch him do crosscuts but I have had the chance to see him do so much more. I have seen him do exquisite footwork that leaves me breathless and jumps that make me remember how beautiful jumps can be. And over the years I have seen him grow as an artist and performer.

I have never been one of those who looks at him (or generally most skaters for that matter|) and sees what is wrong with him or what he doesn't have or doesn't offer. I am grateful that I have had the chance to see him do what he does as well or better than any other skater.

I am sorry for people who spend so much energy trying to bring someone down when they could use that energy to support the skaters they do like. Ever notice how much more action there is on threads complaining about Patrick Chan than supporting Dennis Ten - or even Takahashi for that matter?

I am not saying everyone has to like Patrick Chan the person or Patrick Chan the skater or agree with his placements. Everyone is welcome to look forward to his retirement so they don't have to see him skate anymore. That is just fine.

I am just saying that I am glad that although I have never seen Patrick Chan as perfect, that those imperfections don't prevent me from greatly enjoying so much about his skating.

I remember watching him at the Nationals in 2011 and thinking "I am watching greatness". And I truly believe that. You can argue with me if you want - but just so you know - just as there are a ridiculous number of you whose opinion won't be changed by this post - you won't change mine either.

As sick as I am of reading Chan bashing thread after Chan bashing thread - and negative post after negative post my strategy now is that I am going to focus on the positive.

Personally I am just grateful that I am one of the lucky people who gets to enjoy the things that are absolutely amazing about him. I know there are many who do not or cannot enjoy these things for a number of reasons.

I have seen him do what I consider to be one of the greatest short programs of all time this year at Worlds and one of the greatest free programs of all time at Nationals in 2011. I have seen him skate live a number of times and for me it never ever gets old. Even with mistakes there is so much to admire FOR ME. I would pay to watch him do crosscuts but I have had the chance to see him do so much more. I have seen him do exquisite footwork that leaves me breathless and jumps that make me remember how beautiful jumps can be. And over the years I have seen him grow as an artist and performer.

I have never been one of those who looks at him (or generally most skaters for that matter|) and sees what is wrong with him or what he doesn't have or doesn't offer. I am grateful that I have had the chance to see him do what he does as well or better than any other skater.

I am sorry for people who spend so much energy trying to bring someone down when they could use that energy to support the skaters they do like. Ever notice how much more action there is on threads complaining about Patrick Chan than supporting Dennis Ten - or even Takahashi for that matter?

I am not saying everyone has to like Patrick Chan the person or Patrick Chan the skater or agree with his placements. Everyone is welcome to look forward to his retirement so they don't have to see him skate anymore. That is just fine.

I am just saying that I am glad that although I have never seen Patrick Chan as perfect, that those imperfections don't prevent me from greatly enjoying so much about his skating.

I remember watching him at the Nationals in 2011 and thinking "I am watching greatness". And I truly believe that. You can argue with me if you want - but just so you know - just as there are a ridiculous number of you whose opinion won't be changed by this post - you won't change mine either.

And again - that is just fine.

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Well said Accordion.
I too was privileged to see him at worlds this year and also at SOI last week.

I didn't see the worlds skate live, but nationals 2011 live, plus several other comps - he truly is breathtaking.
I agree with every word you've said The Accordian.

And I don't really care if he's a nice person or not. I love his skating, and when I'm watching him, or any skater I'm not remotely affected by, or interested in, who they are off the ice. It's the skating that matters.

I do think, however that he is still quite puzzling naive when it comes to print interviews. As has been pointed out in another thread, in live interviews he comes across quite differently than in print interviews where nitwits like DiMano can skew things however they want. I also think he's said some pretty stupid things. Shrug. In the end I'm only interested in what he does on the ice.

As sick as I am of reading Chan bashing thread after Chan bashing thread - and negative post after negative post my strategy now is that I am going to focus on the positive.

Personally I am just grateful that I am one of the lucky people who gets to enjoy the things that are absolutely amazing about him. I know there are many who do not or cannot enjoy these things for a number of reasons.

I have seen him do what I consider to be one of the greatest short programs of all time this year at Worlds and one of the greatest free programs of all time at Nationals in 2011. I have seen him skate live a number of times and for me it never ever gets old. Even with mistakes there is so much to admire FOR ME. I would pay to watch him do crosscuts but I have had the chance to see him do so much more. I have seen him do exquisite footwork that leaves me breathless and jumps that make me remember how beautiful jumps can be. And over the years I have seen him grow as an artist and performer.

I have never been one of those who looks at him (or generally most skaters for that matter|) and sees what is wrong with him or what he doesn't have or doesn't offer. I am grateful that I have had the chance to see him do what he does as well or better than any other skater.

I am sorry for people who spend so much energy trying to bring someone down when they could use that energy to support the skaters they do like. Ever notice how much more action there is on threads complaining about Patrick Chan than supporting Dennis Ten - or even Takahashi for that matter?

I am not saying everyone has to like Patrick Chan the person or Patrick Chan the skater or agree with his placements. Everyone is welcome to look forward to his retirement so they don't have to see him skate anymore. That is just fine.

I am just saying that I am glad that although I have never seen Patrick Chan as perfect, that those imperfections don't prevent me from greatly enjoying so much about his skating.

I remember watching him at the Nationals in 2011 and thinking "I am watching greatness". And I truly believe that. You can argue with me if you want - but just so you know - just as there are a ridiculous number of you whose opinion won't be changed by this post - you won't change mine either.

And again - that is just fine.

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Wow......just Wow. Thank-you for this, I don't think anyone could have said it any better about anyone or anything. I don't care who you're even talking about, that was great!
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I don't get this persistent theory that anyone who doesn't worship Patrick is just jealous and bitter

I frankly don't care much about men's skating and am not really emotionally invested in any male skater. Chan is still a tactless arse.

I am sorry for people who spend so much energy trying to bring someone down when they could use that energy to support the skaters they do like. Ever notice how much more action there is on threads complaining about Patrick Chan than supporting Dennis Ten - or even Takahashi for that matter?

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This is exactly the kind of attitude I'm talking about. The fact that you assume all of the Chan bashing threads are coming from only fans of rival male skaters. That's a laugh.

I am not sure if you are referring to my post - but if so - I suggested no such thing.

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Your post implies that the people bashing Chan are more invested in bashing him than praising their faves, ie his rivals. But a lot of the criticism leveled at Chan has nothing to do with other male skaters. It has to do with his piss poor attitude. I think your attitude of focusing on the positive is a great one. I just find that a lot of Patrick fans on this board seem heavily convinced that everyone is seething with jealousy over their skater's godly skills

I didn't see the worlds skate live, but nationals 2011 live, plus several other comps - he truly is breathtaking.

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Here's an honest question: I understand that he has probably the best skating skills ever, and I myself greatly enjoy watching his lower body and feet - it's like watching a brilliant exercise/etude done to perfection. But other than that, what else do you find so breathtaking about him?

Here's an honest question: I understand that he has probably the best skating skills ever, and I myself greatly enjoy watching his lower body and feet - it's like watching a brilliant exercise/etude done to perfection. But other than that, what else do you find so breathtaking about him?

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His speed, the way he floats over the ice, when he's on his jumps are a thing of beauty - high, powerful, cover great distance, his intricate effortless footwork, his connection to the music. I agree with Sandra Bezic wholeheartedly - it's not that Patrick isn't musical, it's that he doesn't sell the program to the audience. Well that doesn't matter to me, seeing him live, from the front row, when he's on, you can see he oozes musicality, it's just very internal - that's what I see anyway. I also like just about all the choreo he's been given, and love the way the programs never stop - that there's this flow the entire way through with jumps that arrive out of no-where. When he's on, and you see him live, the entire program from beginning to end flies by in about 2 seconds of coherent beauty. He's so fast without rushing a thing. I'm a huge fan.

Your post implies that the people bashing Chan are more invested in bashing him than praising their faves, ie his rivals. But a lot of the criticism leveled at Chan has nothing to do with other male skaters. It has to do with his piss poor attitude. I think your attitude of focusing on the positive is a great one. I just find that a lot of Patrick fans on this board seem heavily convinced that everyone is seething with jealousy over their skater's godly skills

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I am just a big believer on spending my time focusing on the positive in general and what I appreciate about skaters and skating in particular

So if I don't like a skater or his attitude or anything else about him I just don't see the good in spending a ton of time on the Internet writing about it. I am not saying I have never written anything negative - I am not 100% Polyanna but even with skaters who aren't my favourite - I can still appreciate their strengths. Even when I may believe they may have displayed a "piss poor attitude"

This is why I point out how much bandwidth is spent calling down Patrick Chan versus appreciation threads for other male skaters. One would think that if someone is invested enough to make negative comments about a skater of one discipline on a thread - that they may spend at least the same energy making positive comments about another.

It is such a shame to see Patrick Chan underappreciated for his amazing talents and efforts. At this point people should really start talking about him as maybe the best skater ever I think. Instead all he gets is jerks whining about his well deserved wins.

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That's a little uncalled for, isn't it? If someone is in disagreement about his win, that doesn't make them a "jerk." I like Patrick, as well as many other skaters, however, I do believe that some Patrick fans are a little too sensitive when anything negative is said about him.

Also, just wondering--with lots of people claiming that reporters "skew" what Patrick says, has he ever disputed any of the quotes attributed to him?

Too many controversial wins. Too many blatant wrong wins. Too overscored. Too bad an attitude. Too boring to watch in many ways despite pretty good skating skills. He will never be a star, his fans need to deal with it.

Perhaps Chan's naysayers too should try to deal with the fact that there are a lot of people who enjoy his skating and that he already is a star to those people. Don't know why some believe their opinion is the only valid one in a subjective sport like figure skating.

I like Patrick very much, but I do agree he has had some controversial wins & (most notably @ this year's Worlds). I blame most of it on the judging, though. Denis should have been on the top of this year's World podium.

Perhaps Chan's naysayers too should try to deal with the fact that there are a lot of people who enjoy his skating and that he already is a star to those people. Don't know why some believe their opinion is the only valid one in a subjective sport like figure skating.

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In my experience, the fans of Patrick believe that he is the skating God and if anyone happens to have a different opinion about him, they are the ones who aren't allowed their opinions. The Patrick fans are often the most dismissive of others opinions. I am not saying that all his fans are OTT with the need to convince the world that they are wrong in not agreeing with the Patrick God thing. Just as there are anti-Patrick fans who wish to point out flaws but many are. I've seen Patrick, Javiar, and Dai among others live. Each has their strengths and weaknesses.

I think that many posters who, in your estimation who don't give Patrick the respect you think he deserves, are those who feel that a clean skate or nearly a clean skate should be marked higher than someone who may have the edging but falls. And are ones who appreciate a little humility from the skaters on the top of the world. I disagree that it is only print media that he has trouble with, I think his live interviews are just as damning. That is my opinion and as someone said, figure skating is a subjective sport.

Patrick&#8217;s fans are not &#8216;worshippers&#8217; and neither do we think he is God. Worship denotes blind faith. We know what we like and admire in Patrick. We also see Patrick&#8217;s strengths and weaknesses. And no, we won&#8217;t jump down the building if Patrick loses the OGM. But yes, we will &#8216;defend&#8217; him if we think he is being unfairly crucified because civil mindedness and fairness are important to us. We wouldn&#8217;t have come out to speak out if not for the uncalled for constant bashing of Patrick. If you choose to criticise so we can choose to defend. We can all indulge in the game of nit picking but as Accordion says, if only our energies can be channeled into positive outcomes, we can have more civil debates and perhaps maybe even learn to appreciate each other some day.

Patrick&#8217;s fans are not &#8216;worshippers&#8217; and neither do we think he is God. Worship denotes blind faith. We know what we like and admire in Patrick. We also see Patrick&#8217;s strengths and weaknesses. And no, we won&#8217;t jump down the building if Patrick loses the OGM. But yes, we will &#8216;defend&#8217; him if we think he is being unfairly crucified because civil mindedness and fairness are important to us. We wouldn&#8217;t have come out to speak out if not for the uncalled for constant bashing of Patrick. If you choose to criticise so we can choose to defend. We can all indulge in the game of nit picking but as Accordion says, if only our energies can be channeled into positive outcomes, we can have more civil debates and perhaps maybe even learn to appreciate each other some day.

To be frank, I think a lot of people including myself would appreciate and respect what Chan does well, if the judges didn't hand Patrick the score they give him for error ridden programs.

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What has one to do with the other? You can still appreciate and respect what Chan does well regardless of how the judges treat him and the same can be said for other skaters. Quality of skating is one thing, judging is another.